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Good afternoon all.
Well its me birthday in a couple of weeks and i'm being given £500 to spend on a camera.
For the past year and a bit I have been using a Panasonic Lumix fz5 (5million pix fixed lense)
I would like to upgrade to my first proper slr.
I know that when talking about SLR's that £500 may not seem much to some but it will be a big upgrade for me and I want one that I can learn all the basics of using a slr.
Could anyone recommend a make and supplier. I have looked at so many and at the moment I am drawn towards the Nikon d60
Cheers Ian
I would go for this with the money : Canon 450D
Nick
PS Agree with Chris above.
As said above, the entry cameras are much the same really especially between Canon and Nikon. If you are not tied to any make (because you've not already spent hundreds on Len's) then go to a shop and have a play to see which you prefer the usability of. then go online and search around for the one you liked most!
GaZ
cheers folks that all sounds like sound advice, i'm off to town tommoz and we have a jessops and a couple of other shops, so i will have a play......I have looked at the Olympus twin lense kit but was unsure as the main makes you here about are the Nikon and Cannon
ian
I agree with Chris, try them all see which you are comforable with.
At the entry level most people would agree there is no such thing as a"poor" camera.
If you get bitten by the SLR bug and decide to upgrade later to a more advanced camera then you have to consider the availability of lenses and accessories.
The two "Big Guns" Canon & Nikon have a bigger range than Pentax, Sony Olympus etc as faras lenses go.
Steve
Quote: Paul Morgan will be along shortly to suggest you consider the Olympus SLRs which are very good value and very capable cameras
As above,try them all and see what you like best.
All entry level dslr`s are very capable.
Some of the best buys will always be the 4/3 twin lens kits such as the 510/410/420 or the Pany bellow now its dropped in price, the kit lens makes the offer very good and is part of the 4/3 system.
here
If you can't see yourself spending a fortune on lenses then I would look at something with image stabilisation built in like Sony or Pentax. The Sony 350 is about your price range and all the mags are featuring it at the moment, pitting it against the Nikon and Canon entrys its coming out on top. Buy a mag and see how it feels in the shop, i don't think any will dissapoint but the Sony has a lot of useful features.... and no i don't have a Sony i'm a defeated canonite! :]
Thankyou all for the advice....off to shops in morning so will let you know how i get on.....I think i will start by looking at nikon d60,olympus twin kit ,panasonic l10 and the sony 350......Is Jessops a good place to start or a smaller family run shop better???
ian
Hi Ian,
On the Canon front the 40D at it's current cash back price is a real bargain, And a more robust camera than the more basic offerings....!
Having said that if your taken by the Nikon D60, My guess is that you'll love it.....!
Probably a good idea to go try a few, And see what feels the best to you in physical terms.....As for image taking all the current brand models produce good quality images, So there is not a great deal between them........!
Happy hunting.......
Quote: Is Jessops a good place
Ha ha....Some people hate them....Some luv-em......
You can get a reasonable deal from Jessops, Especially if they are still price matching......But barter with the blighters, Whatever they offer.... Try and get a 4Gb memory card out of them at least......!
)
I just bought a Sony A300 & am delighted with it. Jessops doing the camera + 18-70 + 55-200 + free rucksack type case for £525. If you don't need 14.2mp, no point spending extra on the A350. See the robin shot in my pf for lens quality. Also the IS works a treat.
Rog
Quote: D60 has no facility for a wired remote
Now that is naughty of Nikon.....What a bunch of cheap-skates...
Good point though.....!
Which brings me back to the Canon 40D........It's got almost everything and a semi pro build to boot.....
As people have said, most entry level cameras are much of a muchness and you won't go far wrong with any of the main makes.
However, do look at the rest of the range from that manufacturer. It may seem pointless looking at £2000 camera bodies and mega long lenses but you never know where your interest in photography will take you.
When you're buying an SLR you are buying into a system and as soon as you have 2 or 3 lenses and a flashgun (which will happen fairly quicky), you are pretty well locked into that system and changing is a major decision, not to mention financial nightmare. Therefore it is important to check that the system has enough compatible lenses etc... for your photography to grow.
Canon and Nikon are the most dominant and have the biggest systems. I have used Nikon in the past and currently use Canon so I may be a little biased when I say that IMO they are the ones to go for, and these days they don't cost any more than other makes.
Some of the new olympus models do look pretty nice and I have had a play with a couple owned by friends but then I ask myself 'would I swap my canons for one of these' and always come up with the same answer.. ' not in a million years'.
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